The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, whose World War II naval service included combat duty aboard the light aircraft carrier Monterey in the Pacific Theater.

[17] Construction began on 11 August 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that forms part of a side shell unit of the carrier.

[5] Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet replacing the decommissioned USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which ended her 51 years of active service in December 2012.

[19][20] Originally scheduled for delivery in 2015,[21] Gerald R. Ford was delivered to the Navy on 31 May 2017[6] and formally commissioned by President Donald Trump on 22 July 2017.

"[29] Since such "sense of" language is typically non-binding and does not carry the force of law, the Navy was not required to name the ship after Ford.

The announcements were made at a Pentagon ceremony attended by Vice President Dick Cheney, Senators Warner (R-VA) and Levin (D-MI), Major General Guy C. Swan III, Bales, Ford's other three children, and others.

[35][36] On 10 September 2008, the U.S. Navy signed a $5.1 billion contract with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, to design and construct the carrier.

In a speech to the assembled shipworkers and DoD officials, Bales said: "Dad met the staggering challenges of restoring trust in the presidency and healing the nation's wounds after Watergate in the only way he knew how—with complete honesty and integrity.

Because of budget difficulties, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert warned there might be a two-year delay beyond 2016 in completing Gerald R.

[58] In July 2016, a memo was obtained by CNN from Michael Gilmore, the US Department of Defense's Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation indicating that problems with four major flight systems would further delay combat readiness of the ship.

[59] By March 2018, due to issues with the nuclear propulsion system and munitions elevators, construction costs had reached $13.027 billion, making the Gerald R. Ford the most expensive warship ever built.

With the EMALS, Gerald R. Ford can accomplish 25% more aircraft launches per day than the Nimitz class and requires 25% fewer crew members.

[65] According to an Associated Press story: "She is truly a technological marvel," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said in a webcast ceremony at the Newport News, Va., shipyard where Gerald R. Ford is being built, "She will carry unmanned aircraft, joint strike fighters, and she will deploy lasers.

"[66]These performance enhancements were problematic in Pentagon tests, and final software fixes for some of the problems were delayed until after the ship's post-shakedown availability in 2019.

The Navy implemented a rigorous testing program to ensure performance issues would be resolved before the systems were installed on the aircraft carrier.

[76] On 18 June 2021, Gerald R. Ford completed her first Full Ship Shock Trial 87 nautical miles (100 mi) off Ponce Inlet, Florida to ensure that she is able to withstand battle conditions.

[7] On 28 July 2017, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) performed the first arrested landing and catapult launch from Gerald R. Ford in an F/A-18F Super Hornet.

[90][91][92] On 14 November 2022 the ship arrived in United Kingdom waters, for a four day visit anchored in Stokes Bay near Gosport.

[94] On 3 May 2023, Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk on her first full length deployment and was scheduled to be operating in the 2nd and 6th Fleet's Area of Responsibility (AOR).

[101] On 8 October 2023, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, directed the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean "to bolster regional deterrence efforts."

[103] While the carrier remained in the Mediterranean, several of the escort ships were sent into the Red Sea, where they repeatedly intercepted missiles and drones fired from Yemen.

The carrier spent a total of 239 days away from Norfolk, conducted 43 underway replenishments, logged more than 10,396 sorties, and sailed more than 83,476 nautical miles (154,598 kilometers).